Cosplay 2024 – Meet the Judges

Posted on Wednesday, July 24, 2024 by Dana

Our annual cosplay contest is fast approaching!  On Monday, July 29th dress up as your favorite character, be it superhero, anime, sci-fi or your own original persona. We’ll award prizes for the best costumes and characterization in different age categories, so be ready to show off your cosplay game!

The program is for all ages. Photos and registration will begin at 6 p.m., followed at 6:30 p.m. by a runway show.  The winners are determined by our panel of amazing judges who are plenty strong in their own cosplay skills and fandom knowledge. Continue reading “Cosplay 2024 – Meet the Judges”

dear body of water: a poetic water-harvesting project 🌊

Posted on Wednesday, July 17, 2024 by Grae

Did you know the Missouri River — also belovedly known as the Big Muddy, the Mighty Mo, and Mnišoše (“turbid water”) by the Dakota and Lakota — is the longest river on the North American continent?! This wide river of silt and sediment churns its way for over 2000 miles from western Montana down across and through six other states to merge with the Mississippi and on to the Gulf of Mexico, and its watershed drains around 1/6 (!!!) of the United States’ landmass over an area of 500,000 square miles. If you’re not a numbers person (🎶it’s me, hiiiiiii!🎶), here’s a visual representation of the breadth of the Missouri’s drainage basin, highlighted in light green below:

Image of a map of the continental United States of America (no Hawaii or Alaska) with six major river basins highlighted in light green, light blue, pink, gold, dark blue, and yellow. The river basins highlighted include clockwise the Missouri River basin (in green), the Upper Mississippi River Basin (in light blue), the Ohio River Basin (in pink), the Tennessee River Basin (in gold), the Lower Mississippi River Basin (in dark blue), and the Arkansas-White-Red River Basin (in yellow).

It will never not be astonishing to me that here in Mid-Missouri we are so close to such a robust and essential body of water and river-system, one that I believe deserves our reverence and respect. If you feel the same way, I encourage you to participate in Dear Body of Water, a communal interdisciplinary art project dreamed up from the scientifically poetic mind and experience of Gretchen E. Henderson. Continue reading “dear body of water: a poetic water-harvesting project 🌊”

Why “The Lord of the Rings” Movies are Better Than the Books

Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2024 by Laura W

"Laura's Love of Lord of the Rings Part 2" with a stylized sword, wizard, elf, and Hobbit hole

Obviously, I am an avid lover of books. In fact, I love books so much that I am one of those people who thinks that the book is almost always better than the movie. Don’t get me wrong, I love adaptations; There are some that are incredibly well done. For instance, the new Percy Jackson series on Disney Plus is insanely good. They did a fantastic job capturing what made the books so magical for so many people. But generally, no matter how good I think a movie is, I still tend to think the book is better. There is just something about the medium of literature that cannot be outdone. This fact holds true for everything except one of my all-time favorite series: “The Lord of the Rings.” If I believe that books are better than movies nine out of ten times, why would I change my mind for arguably one of the most influential series of the 20th century? Read on to uncover the mystery. Continue reading “Why “The Lord of the Rings” Movies are Better Than the Books”

Teen Photo Contest 2024

Posted on Monday, June 24, 2024 by DBRLTeen

stylized image of a person combined with a green leafy texture holding a camera pointed directly at the observer Get into Summer Reading by entering our teen photo contest! Take a picture based on the theme, “Adventure Begins at Your Library” and submit it by filling out the form below.

Enter by Friday, July 12 for your chance to win a local gift card. Winners will be announced at the end of July and posted on the library’s social media if consent is given. Your photo can be of your human friends or your pet family–the possibilities are endless! For ages 12-18.

The submission period for this contest is now over. Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s photo contest!

Continue reading “Teen Photo Contest 2024”

Celebrate Juneteenth With Some Black Books!

Posted on Tuesday, June 18, 2024 by DBRLTeen

Happy Juneteenth everyone! This holiday, only recognized widely within the last few years, was established to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans and as a day to celebrate the influence and contributions that Black Americans have made to the culture and history of the United States. The list of Black people who have had an impact on this country is far, far too long to list, but the influence of many of these figures is felt even to this very day. It is especially important in times like these, where racism and violence against the Black community, both individual and institutional, is once again on the rise, that we can take a day to celebrate both all that we have achieved and all the struggles that have been overcome on the way here. With that in mind, we here at DBRL have put together a book list that contains a variety of titles related to the holiday, from stories around reconstruction and the end of slavery to stories centering Black characters in a variety of settings, to the lingering effects of emancipation in the modern day.

You can find our book list at the link here.  No matter what draws your eye, we at DBRL hope that you have a wonderful Juneteenth! As a reminder, all of our locations will be closed on June 19th.

Why Everyone Should Watch “The Lord of The Rings” Movies

Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2024 by Laura W

Cover image that says "Laura's Love of Lord of the Rings: Part 1"

 

If you’ve read any of my other blogs, you’d know that I am a lover of all things fantasy. I pretty much essentially only read fantasy. I play mostly fantasy video games. If I could dress in fantasy inspired clothing every day, I absolutely would. My love of fantasy started pretty young, but the one franchise that really solidified it for me was “The Lord of the Rings.”

I first saw the movies when I was about 12 years old. From that point on, I have consistently watched them at LEAST once a year. I genuinely believe that everyone should watch those movies, regardless of whether they’re into fantasy or not. Here’s my top 3 reasons why: Continue reading “Why Everyone Should Watch “The Lord of The Rings” Movies”

Book & Canvas Wall Art

Posted on Wednesday, June 5, 2024 by Megan

Getting rid of old books is hard, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun! If you have old books lying around that are slightly damaged or maybe you got an updated edition – don’t throw them away. Turn them into art! We love repurposing old books here at the library and below we have listed all the supplies and instructions you need to turn your old books into a masterpiece. Continue reading “Book & Canvas Wall Art”

Book Review: If You’ll Have Me

Posted on Wednesday, May 29, 2024 by Nigel Church

“I’m used to people liking me for… what I can do for them. Not for me.

What’s the story?

If You’ll Have Me” is a lighthearted look at the early stages of a new relationship and how two souls can become tangled up in each other. Momo is a small person. Not just in stature, but in presentation. She is often quiet when others are loud, avoids being the center of attention, and is shamelessly used by others for academic help and random chores. She’s a people pleaser and falls into the oft-used trope of ‘never been kissed’. PG is a large person. Outside of members of her own family, she towers over other characters. But just like Momo her physical presentation is linked to her personality. She’s known to sleep around, she’s a heartbreaker who doesn’t care what others think. She uses people to get what she wants. Continue reading “Book Review: If You’ll Have Me”